Practicing My Pivot

By Kim Fernandez

“There is no way you’ll have a day off tomorrow,” I told my kids. “It’s November.” And at first, I was right—we woke up to a two-hour school delay. But as what was supposed to be a passing squall decided to hang around and the grass and road vanished under the season’s first all-natural white blanket, the school system changed course and called things off for the day. This, of course, led to much rejoicing by two out of three of us and a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking in the comments sections of local news sites. I’m pretty sure parking professionals can relate.

A weird, late-fall snowstorm isn’t a disaster by any stretch. But it required a few quick pivots to keep my day on track (and, I will admit, probably more than my share of grumbling. I am not a snow girl in February, much less a week before Thanksgiving). Find the shovel, uncover the boots at the bottom of the closet, clear the walk, start the car in time for it to defrost, dig out the tire gauge to figure out if the temperamental low-pressure warning light meant it this time.

As the holiday season approaches, I’m betting there are many pivots ahead. My strategy is to breathe deeply, smile intentionally, and count blessings with each challenge. What’s yours?

Kim Fernandez is IPMI’s director of publications and editor of The Parking Professional.